Repairing Orbea cable stop

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McNamara
Posts: 39
Joined: Thu Jul 21, 2016 10:57 pm
Location: Dallas, TX

by McNamara

Hi everybody,

I'm getting a 2012 Orca that suffered a broken fork in a crash earlier this year. Orbea sent the bike shop a new fork, and the rest of the frame appears fine, except that the cable stop for the front derailleur popped off. It is the metallic chevron-shaped piece in this photo (except on the left of the downtube):

Image

The mechanic was not too confident that gluing it back on to the frame would resist the tension of the FD cable, i.e., it would just pop off over and over again. He suggested converting to a 1x10 setup, which made me throw up a bit in my mouth. I asked him to epoxy it back on and see what happens.

Has anyone had experience with this type of cable stop coming off, and have you been able to permanently fix it?

Thanks

by Weenie


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shotgun
Posts: 319
Joined: Tue Dec 30, 2008 3:38 pm
Location: Philippines

by shotgun

I've had a TCR with a cable stop (brake) on the top tube come off due to my sweat + aluminum + carbon over its lifespan. I've used epoxies and they've held up for quite some time, a few months before it came off. I think there's less tension on shifter cables so epoxies should work. It's worth a try and it won't be disastrous if it fails, unlike my predicament before.
2018 Giant TCR Advance SL0 Disc
2017 Festka Scalatore
1989 Battaglin Roche
1985 Alan Carbonio

McNamara
Posts: 39
Joined: Thu Jul 21, 2016 10:57 pm
Location: Dallas, TX

by McNamara

Thanks for the reply. Yeah, I'm glad it's the cable stop for the front derailleur and not the RD, or worse, a brake cable like you had. I'm guessing if it fails during a ride, I'll get an unwanted shift to the small chainring, where it will stay until I can repair it again, but nothing worse.

sungod
Posts: 1702
Joined: Fri Dec 24, 2010 9:37 pm

by sungod

might spoil the cosmetics a bit, but a carbon fibre repair service should be able to do it

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BRM
Posts: 817
Joined: Sun Mar 16, 2014 3:43 pm

by BRM

Does the back of the stop has pins that go into the frame?
If not you need to make yourself some (at least 2)

Then epoxied this will hold the stopper much better in place.

McNamara
Posts: 39
Joined: Thu Jul 21, 2016 10:57 pm
Location: Dallas, TX

by McNamara

No pins that I noticed (unless they broke cleanly in the same plane as the inner surface of the stop). I think it was just bonded to the frame. I agree pinning it would make it much stronger; any tips on how to go about that? Tools and materials needed?

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BRM
Posts: 817
Joined: Sun Mar 16, 2014 3:43 pm

by BRM

To give some ideas:

I would go for some steel pins. Look what max diameter you can use and a drill that is just a tad smaller.
Steel pins you can buy online, modeling building shops or maybe at your local DIY store. Also you can make pins from steel nails.
Often these steels are a bit sensitive for breaking when you use force. Depending on the diameter. (like the effect when you set too much sideforce on a tiny steel drill, that says "snap".

You also can use spring steel wire. This is a bit springy and therefore much less sensitive for breaking.
Maybe you even have something in your own storage. In (electronic) devices it is sometimes used. It can have all kind of shapes and diameters. You simply cut of some straight pieces what you can use. sample >> http://sell.lulusoso.com/upload/2012030 ... _Clips.jpg

Or . . . use a spoke for this. In theory even the thread on a spoke you can use to fix the pin into the stopper.
Try to use a fixed drilling device (drill press) to have optimal control when drilling into the stopper and frame.
Prepare the surfaces right and use quality epoxy glue.

McNamara
Posts: 39
Joined: Thu Jul 21, 2016 10:57 pm
Location: Dallas, TX

by McNamara

Excellent! I really appreciate the ideas. If epoxy alone doesn't cut it, I'll try pinning the stop onto the frame.

McNamara
Posts: 39
Joined: Thu Jul 21, 2016 10:57 pm
Location: Dallas, TX

by McNamara

Update. I got the bike back from the shop with the new fork fitted; they didn't have any epoxy so I said I'd take care of it. I bought some West System epoxy and a clamp...the bike is currently in the stand and the epoxy is curing. After 24 hours I'll take the clamp off and reconnect the FD cable. Hopefully it holds up during the test ride. More to follow.

DamonRinard
in the industry
Posts: 396
Joined: Fri Apr 29, 2011 8:32 pm
Location: Connecticut, USA

by DamonRinard

If it comes off again take a close look to see what failed.

1. Adhesive failure: If all the epoxy is on one piece (either the frame or cable stop), then a surface bond failed. Need to improve surface prep (cleanliness, oxidation prevention, surface roughness, etc.). Possibly the alloy piece could benefit from a chemical conversion of the oxide layer, like West System's aluminum etch solution.

2. Cohesive failure: If some of the epoxy is on each piece, then the epoxy failed. Need to improve the epoxy. Either choose a stronger epoxy or check you've really used yours correctly: mix ratio, was it really fully mixed, temperature/time to cure, etc.
Damon Rinard
Engineering Manager, Road Bikes
Cycling Sports Group, Cannondale
Ex-Kestrel, ex-Velomax, ex-Trek, ex-Cervelo

McNamara
Posts: 39
Joined: Thu Jul 21, 2016 10:57 pm
Location: Dallas, TX

by McNamara

Hopefully it won't come off again, but if it does I'll know what to look for. Thanks for the advice.

So, the test ride went well this evening. Just a quick seven mile spin around the neighborhood to check fit and function. I did a couple dozen front shifts, and it was as good as I would expect from Red 2012. Which is to say, far superior to my old bike with 105 and about on par with an Ultegra bike I rode recently. I'll do a few more short rides this week and a group ride Saturday; if it's still going strong it may be fair to say the repair was a success. Time will tell!

Thanks for the help, everybody. If this thread fades into the archives you can assume the epoxy held up long term. ;)

chris47
Posts: 126
Joined: Thu Apr 10, 2014 11:06 pm

by chris47

Why not just run the gear cable internally, with full outer housing? just drill a hole or use an existing hole as the exit port.

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BRM
Posts: 817
Joined: Sun Mar 16, 2014 3:43 pm

by BRM

Such a thing you do only when there are no other options left.

McNamara
Posts: 39
Joined: Thu Jul 21, 2016 10:57 pm
Location: Dallas, TX

by McNamara

I'd rather restore the bike to the way it was designed to work than start drilling extra holes in a beautiful carbon frame, that's why not. I happen to prefer the ease of working on external cables anyway, and I suspect running derailleur cables internally on a frame intended for external cables (only the rear brake cable is internal on the 2012 Orca) would noticeably increase shifting friction. Anyway, I'm off for a 20 mile test ride part deux.

by Weenie


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the3rdway
Posts: 1
Joined: Sun Jul 23, 2017 6:07 pm

by the3rdway

McNamara wrote:I'd rather restore the bike to the way it was designed to work than start drilling extra holes in a beautiful carbon frame, that's why not. I happen to prefer the ease of working on external cables anyway, and I suspect running derailleur cables internally on a frame intended for external cables (only the rear brake cable is internal on the 2012 Orca) would noticeably increase shifting friction. Anyway, I'm off for a 20 mile test ride part deux.



How did the epoxy fix work out? The same thing happened to me today with the RD cable stop... which made my ride interesting!

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